Kovacevic: Marte's mysteriously muffed fly ball

SAN FRANCISCO -- Yeah, but did he see it?

The only things swirling more wildly than fly balls in the Bay Area wind and sun were explanations for how one of those plopped in front of Starling Marte to cost the Pirates a crushing 2-1 loss to the last-place Giants on this Wednesday afternoon at AT&T Park.

First, take a look and try to take your own guess at what might have happened when Brandon Belt blooped this eminently catchable ball into left field for the decisive run in the seventh inning:





Got anything?

Nope, neither do I and, infinitely more important, neither did anyone else.

"I heard the crack of the bat, and I knew the ball came off strong and hard, and I tried to get the best judgment on the ball," Marte said through team interpreter Mike Gonzalez. "And as I was reading it, the wind started taking it away and, unfortunately, what happened happened."

So, wait, was it the wind or the sun?

Because it had been painfully clear he lost sight of it for a spell.

"It was a little bit of both," Marte said. "Right away with the sun, it was kind of hard to judge it, and the wind didn't help."

Thought I'd try one last time: Did he see it?